The 1960s was a time of gay and lesbian bars being subject to constant police raids due to homosexual activity still being illegal. On June 28th, 1969, police entered Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, physically “roughed-up” patrons, and arrested thirteen people. Fed up with police harassment and social discrimination, hundreds of people from both Stonewall Inn and the surrounding neighborhood began a full-on riot, throwing objects such as cobble stones and pennies at police, and breaking the barricades on multiple occasions. Protests in the area continued for five days.

In 2016, Barack Obama designated the area of the riots as a historical monument due to the event’s importance towards gay rights in America.

An unidentified group of young people celebrated outside of the boarded-up Stonewall Inn after the start of the riots. (Source: Fred W. McDarrah / Getty Images.)